UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FRIDAY HARBOR LABS

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NECROPSY STORY:

• Whale of a biology lesson at FH Labs fin whale necropsy (page 1)
• Page 2
• Story without photos

Whale of a biology lesson at FH Labs

Story and photos by Sharon Kivisto

posted 11/07/02
It was smelly, messy and very educational. Dozens of people watched researchers perform a necropsy on a 53-foot fin whale late last night (November 6, 2002) at FH UW Labs. The sub-adult male whale may have been struck by a ship. Performing a necropsy would determine the cause of death and provide a wealth of information. "We're gathering baseline data," said Dr. Joe Gaydos, a veterinarian with UC Davis and MEHP.

Dr. Rich Osborne of the Whale Museum led the group effort to quickly necropsy the whale. Nick Nash and Kari Koski had managed to tow the whale to the beach by the lab. It took the pair six hours to move the whale 13 miles. Nash said they ended up using two 100 foot lines to tow the whale like a tug towing a barge. "It was 20 feet longer than my boat," he said.

The whale arrived on the beach at 6 p.m. By 9 p.m. measurements had been finished, extension cords strung, lab equipment set up and researchers brought in. The whale ended up upside down on the beach. It would be towed out when the tide came back in.

Steve Rafferty, a British Columbia veterinarian who specializes in pathology of mammals, and Gaydos began dissecting the whale. Sections of skin containing parasites were removed for study. Tissue samples were taken. Albert Shepard of the Whale Museum removed the baleen. The fin was removed to be used as an educational display in the Whale Museum.

Eric Eisenhart, Adam Ü , Erin O'Connell, Rowann Talmon, Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit also worked on the necropsy. Eisenhart and Koski had caught up with the drifting whale yesterday, (Tuesday, Nov. 5) and tied it up to a dock overnight. The whale was first spotted off of Waldron Island on Monday, Nov. 4, 2002.

Two more researchers arrived on the late ferry. (One can only imagine what the riders thought when they went by the labs and saw the locals carving up a whale.) Steve Rafferty of the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and John Calamokidis of Cascadia Research and NOA brought more equipment and expertise.

If all goes as planned, the carcass will be taken to Pt. George off of Shaw Island and tied up to a buoy. Osborne said the Whale Museum hopes to sink the whale. If that is successful, the musuem's underwater vehicle will take photos as the whale decomposes. The footage will be viewable on the Internet. Plan B is for the Army Corps of Engineers to take the carcass away.

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